South Fayette police, other departments pushing drug take-back programs
With the ongoing opioid epidemic in the country, local police departments are allowing residents to come to their police stations and anonymously drop off prescription drugs they don’t want or need. Upper St. Clair, Peters Township and Mt. Lebanon all participate in the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Drug Take-Back initiative, which is a national event that occurs biannually. The departments accept drop-offs anytime, though, as does Bethel Park, which has a box for residents but isn’t through any national or statewide program.
The South Fayette Police Department also allows drop-offs as part of the Prescription Drug Take-Back Program, which is a statewide initiative through the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs and is partnered with the Pennsylvania’s District Attorney’s Association.
South Fayette police Chief John Phoennik said the program is beneficial because it combats the opioid epidemic.
“(This is) somewhere that people can get rid of the medicines so it doesn’t get in the hands of an addict that has an issue or someone that has an addictive personality or someone who’s addicted to drugs,” Phoennik said. “So it gets it out and off the street so it doesn’t fall into the hands of those people.”
The Drug Take-Back program began last year when the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency awarded grants to 29 different district attorney’s offices in the commonwealth, including Allegheny County. The DDAP’s website states the program is “focused on alleviating the health and safety concerns from the diversion and abuse of prescription drugs by helping our citizens properly dispose of unused prescription medications.”
While the overdose rate in the country has almost tripled in the last 25 years, it’s even worse in Pennsylvania.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pennsylvania had the third most overdose deaths in the country and the sixth highest rate of deaths per 100,000 residents in 2015, which is 62 percent higher than the national average. In southwestern Pennsylvania, the rate is more than double the national average, while Allegheny County was second in the state in overdose deaths, according to the Pennsylvania State Coroners Association.
Mike Manko, spokesman for the Allegheny County district attorney’s office, said the program is in response to pain medication abuse in the country and the region.
“There’s been a pain medication in this country for the better part of 20 years. This isn’t something that just happened,” Manko said. “The idea of the boxes is to give people a chance to dispose of medication in a safe way, no questions asked…It’s just a way to help make sure those drugs don’t end up on the street.”
Due to the problem in the region, Phoennik said he thought the disposal box would help when he applied to be a part of the program a year ago. Since then, almost 400 pounds of medications have been collected and properly disposed of, Phoennik said.
“I love it,” he said. “Several people come in here and are thankful there’s a place to do this. I think people are just relieved there’s somewhere to come.”
Phoennik said getting prescription medication out of the house is important to lessen drug abuse and addiction and to save the potential risk of children accidentally taking the drugs.
The program is one of several actions Phoennik said the police department is taking to combat opioid abuse in the township, where Phoennik said there have been 14 drug overdoses this year. The department also holds programs at the schools, is in the process of making an informational magazine for parents and kids, and administers Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of opioid overdose, to those who have overdosed.
Residents can drop off prescription and over-the-counter medications. Other drugs, such as injectables or illegal drugs, are not permissible to be disposed of in the boxes. The medication boxes at the police stations are available during normal business hours.